Mechanical pitchfork



May 14, 1940- A. w. HAMON 2,201,088

MECHANICAL PITCHFORK Filed May ll, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l Alberi Wl Ha man abby/man May 14, 1940. Y A. w. a-UmvloNl 2,201,088

MECHANICAL PITCHFORK Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES azoteas PATENTl orrics 9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved attachment for wheeled vehicles for mechanically loading and unloading a vehicle.

More particularly, it is an aim of this invention to provide an attachment adapted Vto be connected to a wheeled vehicle, such as a farm wagon or truck, and including a power take-off shaft having a manually controlled clutch for actuating a second shaft for operating a fork for loading the body of the vehicle.

Still a further aim of the invention is to provide a second manually operated clutch for actuating the pivotally mounted bottom of saidv vehicle for dumping the load therefrom.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide an' improved loading fork adapted to normally rest on the ground and provided with ra limited swivel movement whereby the fork head may turn to accommodate itself to any uneveness in the ground level.

I Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevational View showing a trailer equipped with the mechanical loading and unloading attachment,

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the same,

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the same, and

Figure4 is a fragmentary top plan View, partly in section, showing the operating mechanism of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, `,wherein like reference characters designate like yor corresponding parts throughout, I designates generally a vehicle of the trailer type including a chassis II having a tongue I2 at the forward end thereof and providedA with a body, designated generally I3, the front Wall I4 of which is spaced from the tongue I2 forming a slot I5 therebetween. Body I3 includes in addition to the front wall I4, the bottom IB, side walls I'I and a tail gate I 8 which is hinged at its top by means of the o rod I9 to open upwardly and outwardly. Bottom I6 is pivotally mounted adjacent its rear end in the body I3 by means of` the rod 20 which is disposed transversely thereof and secured thereto, as by means of the strap fastenings 2I. The ends of the rod are journaled in bearings formed in the depending portions 22 of the sides I1, as best seen in Figure 1.

A plurality of spaced bearing members 23 are secured to and project outwardly from a side of the vehicle ID to journal a shaft 24 which extends longitudinally of the vehicle Ill and which is spaced therefrom, as best seen in Figure 3. A frame 25 includes the corresponding arms 26, connected by the diagonalbraces 21 and a diagonal brace 28, connected atlone end to one of the arms 26, is adapted tobe xed to the shaft 24 by means ofthe sleeves 30 formed on the corresponding ends ofthe arms 26 and brace 28, which engage and are secured to the shaft 24. A fork head 3| is provided with a shank 32, which is journaled adjacent the outer ends of the arms 26 to swivelly mount the fork 3l relatively to the frame`25. Fork3l, as best seen in Figures 2 and 3, includes a relatively Wide back 33 from the bottom edge of which project `the tines 34. f The two outer tines 34 are provided with the upwardly diverging flanges 35 which connect with the back 33, for a purpose which willhereinafter be described. A exible fastening 36, such as a chain, connects one of the arms 26 to the fork 3I adjal cent one end of its back 33 and is provided with suflcient slack to provide a limited swivel movement of the fork 3I relatively to the frame 25. As best seen in Figure l, frame 25 at its Vouter free end is provided with a depending skid shoe 31 disposed slightly below the level of the lower edges of the tines 34. The frame 25 is provided with bumpers 38 each including a headed rod slidably mounted in one of the arms.25 and having an expansion spring disposed between thef arm 26 and the head of the rod for normally holding the rod in a projectedposition. Bumpers 38 are adapted to engage the abutmentmembers 3S mounted on one of-r the sides I 'I for limiting the upward swing of the frame 25.

Frame 25 may be held in a raised, inoperative position when not in use, by attaching the hook 40 which is loosely connected to the same side I 'I to an eyelet 4I on the frame 25 to hold the fork 3l in an elevated position. A contractile coil spring 42 is connected at one `end to a bracket 43 secured to the same side Il and is loosely connected at its opposite end to a rod 44, the opposite end of which is pivotally connected to the lug 45 of the frame 25. Spring 42 is adapted to check the downward swing of the frame 25 and fork 3|, as will hereinafter be more fully described.`

The trailer vehicle I0 is adapted to be connected to a tractor or other suitable draft vehicle, not shown, and a power take-off shaft 46, provided with the universal joint at 4l is adapted to be connected to the drive shaft of the tractor in any suitable manner, not shown. The shaft 46 extends into the casing 48 mounted beneath the tongue I2 and the forward end of the chassis II.

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Casing 48 contains a housing 43 provided with reduction gears, not shown, for connecting the shaft to a shaft 53 for driving the last mentioned shaftl at a reduced speed. The shaft 5e. seen in Figure 4, is journaled in the bearings 5i and is provided with the spaced rcorresponding clutch elements 52, which are fixed to the shaft 50. A second pair of clutch elements 53 are loosely mounted on the shaft 50, on correspondn ing sides of the clutch elements 52. Elements 53 are provided with the spaced annular ribs 54 to receive the inwardly projecting lugs 55 of the' corresponding forked ends 56 of the levers 51 and 58, which as seen in Figure 3 extend upwardly through the slots 58 in the tongue I2. The levers 51 and 58 are pivotally connected intermediateof their ends, not shown, to the tongue I2, and are provided at their upper ends with the forwardly projecting rods 5U and 6I, respectively, which extend forwardly tothe drivers seat of the tractor, not shown, and' which are adapted to be manually actuated by means of levers, not shown, for rocking the levers 51 and 58 to move the clutch elements 53 into and out of engagement Rod 60 extendsk with the clutch elements 52. through a slot 62 in a front wall 53 of the vehicle I0 which projects upwardly from the tongue I2 and which is disposed in front of and spaced from the front wall I4 of the body I3.

A pulley 64 is eccentrically fixed to the shaft 24 adjacent its forward end, and a oable 65 is secured at one end :to the `pulley G4 and wound one or more times around said pulley with the opposite end of said cable fixed to thewindlass portion 66 of the rear clutch element 53 and wound one or more times around the windlass 66.

A hoist comprising a pair of standards 61 and an idler pulley 68 is mounted above the forward end of the body I3. Standards B1 are secured to rthe forward ends of the sides I1 and to the ends of the front wall S3`and project upwardly and inwardly therefrom to journal the pulley 68 between their converging ends. A cable 63 is secured at one end to the forward end of the bottom I6 and is trained over the pulley 68 and over a pulley 10, mounted on the wall 63, with its opposite end wound several times around the windlass portion 1I of the forward clutch element 53.

From the foregoing it will be seen, that when the trailer vehicle I3 is connected to a tractor or other `draft vehicle with its shaft 4B connected to the drive shaft of said draft vehicle, that the trailer II) will not only be drawn by the draft vehicle but the shaft 46 will be revolved by the drive shaft of the draft vehicle to turn shaft 5U at a reduced speed to revolve the clutch elements 52. The vehicle I3 is adapted to be drawn through a field for the purpose of picking up bound or loose grain on the fork 3| which is adapted to travel along the ground, in a position as seen in Figures land 2. When the' fork 3l is loaded the operator of the tractor actuates rod to 'cause it to move rearwardly to rock lever 51,`

which is connected to the rear clutch element 53, containing the windlass 66, yto move said element forwardly and` into frictional engagement with the rear clutch element 52 to cause said clutch element 53 to be revolved in the direction as indicated by the arrow 12, in Figure 2, to exert a pull on cable to thereby turn pulley 64 and shaft 24 in the direction as indicated by the arrows, designated 13 and 14, respectively, of Figures y2 and 4. This counterclockwise movement of the shaft 24 Will swing the frame 25 upwardly and inwardly to throw the grain heldby the fork 3l into the body I3. At approximately the time that the resilient abutments 38 strike the a'butment surfaces 39 the grain will be released and thrown into the body I3. The operator of the tractor then pulls rod forwardly to move the clutch element 53 out of engagement with the clutch element 52 so that the weight of the frame 25 and the fork 3l 'can cause these parts to swing back to their horizontal position, which is resisted by the spring 42 to prevent the skid shoe 31 from striking the ground with too much force. It will be noted that the pulley 64 extends upwardly from the shafft 25 when the fork 3| is in its horizontal or lowered position. Because of this, as the pulley 64 swings toward the shaft 53, during the upward movement of the fork 3l, the speed of the shaft 24 relatively to the shaft 50 will be increased thus increasing the momentum of the fork 3 I, during its upward movement, as it moves toward the `body I3 so that the grain will be effectively thrown therefrom as abutments 38 engage abutments 33. The upwardly extending back 33 and the upwardly extending flanges 35 function to Iprevent the grain from slipping off of the forli 3i. Skid shoe 31 holds the tines 34 slightly raised so that they will not dig into the earth, and the flexible connection 36 permits the fork 3i to swivel suiciently to accommodate itself to the level of the ground surface over which it is passing. After the truck body I3 has been loaded or while moving to or from the field, fork 3I can be held in a raised inoperative position by connecting hook 4D to eyelet 4I.

In o-rder to dump the load in the body I3, rod 6I is moved rearwardly by the operator of the draft vehicle to rock the lever 53 to thereby move the forward clutch member 53 into engagement with its clutch element 52 to turn said clutch element 53 in the direction as indicated by the arrow 12 thereby causing cable 69 to be wound onto the windlass 1I rthus exerting a fpull on said cable to raise the forward end of the bottom I5 to its dotted line position, as seen in Figure 1, so that the grain in the body I3 will be dumped from the rear end of said bottom. By pulling forwardly on rod 6I the forward clutch element 53 will be moved rearwardly and out of engage ment with its clutch element 52 thus being released to allow the weight of the forward end of the bottom I6 to return it to its normal horizonltal position', as seen in Figure 3.

Various modifications and changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts forming the invention are contemplated and may be resorted to, and the right is expressly reserved to make such variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I cla-im as my invention:

l. A device of the class described comprising a trailer vehicle, power take-off means mounted thereon and disposed longitudinally thereof, a rotatably mounted shaft disposed substantially parallel to the power take-off means, means connecting said shaft and said power take-off means, said means including a clutch, a frame iixed to said shaft and projecting outwardly of one side of said vehicle, and a pitchfork connected to the outer end of said frame and movable by the rotation of said shaft through an arc toward the trailer vehicle.

2. A mechanical pitchfork comprising a trailer vehicle, a shaft journaled along one side thereof,

a frame fixed to and projecting outwardly from said shaft, a pitchfork connected to the outer end of said frame and projecting forwardly'therefrom, power take-off means connected to said shaft for swinging the pitchfork toward the body of the trailer vehicle, and spring abutment means carried by the frame for engaging the trailer body.

3. A device as in claim 2, said power take-oil? means including a manually actuated clutch for engaging and disengaging the shaft and power take-off means, and contractile spring means for resisting the movement of the pitchfork away from the trailer.

4. A device as in claim 2, said pitchfork being swivelly connected to said frame whereby it can rock freely relatively to the frame when in a lowered position, and means for limiting the swivel movement of said fork relatively to the frame.

5. A vehicle loading device comprising a trailer vehicle, a shaft journaled on one side thereof, arms fixed to and projecting outwardly from said shaft,`a fork swivelly connected to the free ends of said arms, a driven shaft journaled beneath said trailer, a clutch element fixed to said driven shaft, a second clutch element loosely mounted on said driven shaft and including a windlass drum, manually operated means for moving said second clutch element into and out of frictional engagement with said rst mentioned clutch element, a pulley eccentrically connected to said first mentioned shaft, a belt connecting the windlass and pulley for actuating the rst mentioned shaft for swinging the fork upwardly and toward the body of the trailer vehicle, and spring means for restricting the movement of said fork away from the trailer vehicle.

6. A device as in claim 5, and spring abutment means associated with said arms and adapted to engage fixed abutment members on the body of said trailer vehicle.

7. A loading and unloading attachment for vehicles comprising a wheeled vehicle having a body provided with a bottom pivotally mounted adja-` cent the rear end thereof, a'driven shaft journaled on said vehicle longitudinally thereof, said shaft having a pair of spaced corresponding clutch elements fixed thereto, a pair of corresponding clutch elements loosely mounted on said shaft and including windlass drums, means for selectively actuating said last mentioned clutch' elements for moving them into and out of frictional engagement with said first mentioned clutch elements, a derick provided with an idler pulleyvdisposed above the forward end of said body and mounted thereon, a cable having one end connected to the forward end of said bottom, said cable being trained over said pulley and having its opposite end fixed to and partially wound on one of said windlass drums, a shaft rotatably mounted at one side of said vehicle body, arms fixed to and projecting outwardly from said last mentioned shaft, a fork swivelly connected to the outer ends of said arms and projecting forwardly therefrom, and a belt connecting said last mentioned shaft to the other windlass drum for turning the shaft to swing said fork upwardly and toward the vehicle body. 8. A vehicle loading device comprising a shaft journaled along a side of the body of a vehicle, an arm fixed to said shaft and projecting outwardly therefrom, a fork, means connecting .said fork to the free end of the arm to provide aflimited swivel movement of the fork relatively to the arm, a driven shaft carried by said vehicle, means for connecting said driven shaft to said rst mentioned shaft for swinging the arm and fork upwardly and toward the vehicle body, and resilient means for resisting the movement of the arm and fork away from the body.

9. A` device as in claim 8, comprising spring abutment members carried by said arm for yieldably engaging a portion of the vehicle body when said arm is in a raised position.

`ALBER'I W. HAMON. 

